Just as significant from the driver's seat is how the car's mass is distributed. The lower the mass is in the car's chassis, the lower the car's center of gravity and the more stable its ride and handling. But especially important for a sports car, the closer weight is clustered around what engineers call the vertical yaw axis the better. Imagine a broomstick with two five-pound weights attached. It weighs about 10 pounds regardless of where the weights are positioned. Put the weights at the ends of the broomstick, and try to spin it like a baton. It's not so easy to get started, and once started it's difficult to stop. But move the weights next to each other at the center of the broomstick, and starting it spinning and stopping it requires much less effort.

This is a simplification because concentrating too much of the mass around the yaw axis can make a car unstable, but you get the point. And so did the Mazda engineers. The engine in this latest version was moved rearward more than five inches from its relative location in the previous (pre-2006) model. The gas tank was moved forward and lowered in the chassis. Relocating the battery from the trunk to under the hood positioned it closer to the yaw axis.

What all this has accomplished in pursuit of the ideal 50/50 front/rear weight balance is, well, if not perfection, then close, depending on how the Miata is loaded. With two people buckled in, Mazda pegs the new Miata's weight distribution at 50/50. With their luggage, it tends to a rear bias; empty, with a full gas tank, it tends to a front bias.

So much for what gratifies the left brain. What's so cool about all this shifting around of mechanicals and components is, it works.

The MX-5 is a blast to drive. The 166-hp, six-speed gearbox and a highly responsive throttle give it a nice kick in the back end. The wide track and low center of gravity enable it to corner flatter than should be possible. Balance is so close to perfect, with two people on board, of course, and with the sporty, asymmetrical-tread tires on the Sport and Grand Touring models, that it holds its line through corners like it was highway striping paint.

Quick, left-right-left transitions on a winding two-lane running along a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the Big Island of Hawaii succumb to nearly perfect steering response: light but not twitchy, with good feel regardless of the speed. Crank in more steering to keep it off the rock wall on the outside of a tight switchback, and the rear tires step tentatively sideways. A touch of counter steer and a soft feathering of the gas and the tires stick again, and away you go. What a rush. This is with the electronic stability control deactivated. With it active, the new Miata's still fun, just not as much.

We didn't have the opportunity to drive any models with the 16-inch wheels and standard tires and five-speed manual, but from experience with last year's Miata, we'd expect a similar experience, albeit at lower thresholds.

The new Miata cruises well, too, though on the Interstate it wanders slightly in response to pavement irregularities or when passing a heaving semi. When it must, the MX-5 can crawl along with stop-and-go traffic with no complaint. Clutch effort is so light, your left leg never gets tired.

Ordering the sports suspension buys a firmer ride and increased feel of the road, but not to the point of discomfort.

Brake feel is solid, thanks to improved brake system rigidity and strengthened brake hoses, making repetitive and smooth stops a breeze. But the pedal pressure required is very light around town, necessitating a get-used-to-it period before your right foot knows to tread lightly on the center pedal.

Shifting gears is a delight. The Miata historically offered about the best-shifting manual gearbox on the planet. Its crispness and light effort were pretty much the gold standard in manuals. The MX-5's six-speed doesn't quite match the previous version's effortlessness, but it's close. The throws are delicate and light, and the lever goes just where you want it, as if wired to your brain.

The automatic transmission felt right at home in the stop-and-go. In Activematic mode, gears are selected either by tapping the shift lever forward or back or with steering wheel-mounted paddles. Shifts are smooth, but noticeable, in either mode. In Activematic mode, the automatic transmission works as it should, too, declining to shift up even with the engine zinging along at its electronically limited 7000 rpm or to shift down no matter how hard you stomp the gas pedal.

Playing with the gears in a sports car should entertain not only in how the car moves down the road and through curves, but also aurally, in what you hear as well as what you feel. The new MX-5's exhaust was less than satisfying, sounding more buzzy than throaty, except under hard acceleration, when it finally generated sounds approaching entertaining. The exhaust note was something Mazda's engineers worked very hard at for the original Miata and we miss that classic sports car sound.

With the top up, there's a little flutter of the unlined fabric at extra-legal speeds. Wind noise is well muted, although the rear window shivers a bit. Cowl shake, which afflicts most convertibles, is virtually nonexistent, a benefit of bolting the tower struts' bar to the cowl instead of to each other across the engine bay.

As for wind bluster with the top down, we'll take Mazda's word that the small quarter windows inboard of the outside rearview mirrors do in fact keep the interior calmer, but we could discern no difference with or without the mesh blocker panel in place between the seatback bars.

A 2007 PRHT hardtop model we tested on Michigan's rutted roads proved quieter than the soft top version. The solid roof pays sound-deadening dividends; the radio is a lot easier to hear than in the convertible when its fabric top is up. The extra measure of top-up quiet enables you to enjoy the growl of the MX-5's exhaust when accelerating through the first three gears. Still, the hardtop's cabin isn't nearly as hushed as the average sedan's cabin is; road noise emanates from the rear wheels and comes up through the top's storage well behind the seats, and there's some wind flutter around the rear corner of the side windows. But the roof is squeak-free, and adds to the sense of solidity in what is already a very stout-feeling automobile.